Life Back in Singapore

Okay, so my Japan post is not ready yet. There are so many hundred photos!!

I just went to develop them - all 463 - at a neighbourhood photo kiosk. Each is worth 25cents. You do the math.

You can take a look at a fraction of them on Facebook, actually. But if you want a more concise, chronological one, wait patiently (very patiently) for my post =)

So life back in Singapore is great. Except for two things. Work and the weather. =P

Ok lah, work is always the same, new challenges everyday; all the different types of customers I hear everyday. But the weather... is it just me or is Singapore turning into a gigantic oven? The other day I was shopping at Bugis Street and the wind was actually hot air. We're being baked alive, people. We need help.

Anyway, rubbish aside, done a lot of things since I'm back.

Met up with the Japan Trip people to exchange photos and indugle in one of my fave hobbies: Mahjong. Hehe. After I completed my two HUGE albums worth of photos, let's meet again to view them =))

Went to attend my bro's NPCC Annual Parade at Home Team Academy. Extremely warm day. Everyone around me was practically drenched in perspiration.

Here are some photos:

Nice clouds..

The march-in.. Yup my bro is part of the guard-of-honour.

My bro, circled in red; my cousin, Justin, circled in green.

People started falling out. At first they thought he don't need the stretcher.... but then...

...they were wrong. Poor guy couldn't even move. No one in the crowd couldn't care less about the long-winded prize presentation. They were all counting the number of people who were falling out in the parade... including....

...my brother! The guy in front of him had fallen out. I guess he must've been affected by it. But he's fine. After 5mins he insisted on going back to the parade; however, his instructor didn't allow it.

Group photo...
~

Celebrated two birthdays..

First, my bro's 14 year old at Shokudo:

That's my cousin, aka god-sister, Carolyn.
~

Then there was my colleague's Weilun's birthday at Fish & Co.:

He (the one in green beside me) is totally caught off guard when the cake appeared. Haha, Operation Wei Lun's birthday is officially successful!
~

It was still sizzling hot when it was delivered to us. Although we waited like 10mins for this, but it was worth it!

It's at Empire State restaurant at iLuma, the new (quite ugly-looking) building at Bugis, which I went on Saturday afternoon. Anything with hot, melted chocolate tastes heavenly! Two people finishing it is just nice..

Caught 17 Again at the iLuma's cinema, Filmgarde, after that.

I give the film:





One thing's for sure: Zac Efron is officially a bonafide Hollywood star. Moving on from prancing about in musical numbers in High School Musical, this is Efron's first foray into leading man territory, and although he still plays a basketball jock, the body-switching storyline allows him to show off his acting chops, and he does deliver.

FINAL SAY: If you look pass the cliche, you'll find this an enjoyable, sometimes hilarious and heartwarming movie about cherishing your loved ones. Girls will enjoy it 100%.
~

Caught two much talked-about movies on the flight back from Japan to Singapore. One is Revolutionary Road and the other is Suspect X.

Firstly, the hotly-anticipated reunion of Jack and Rose, aka Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet.

I give the movie:





The two of them never looked better. Directed by Winslet's husband, Sam Mendes, Revolutionary Road is about a 1960's sub-urban American couple's downward spiral into marital Hell and unbliss. If there is one kind of movie I hate, it is depressing movies, and Road is certainly not a smooth-sailing one. But the costume and set-design is pitch-perfect; the supporting cast is great; however, it's the electrifying performances of the leads that are so captivating.

FINAL SAY: When the film climaxes and you hear them utter "I hate you" to each other, you can literally feel the whole room ready to explode into a ball of flame. It is that intense, and it requires a hell lot of chemistry to carry that off. However, if you're feeling emo, don't watch this. Officially one of the most depressing movies ever.
~

Next, Suspect X, based on the hit Japanese detective TV series, Galileo.

I give the film:





What you get from Japanese is originality - something which Hollywood so blatantly chucks aside. With Suspect X, it is a murder mystery that is both compelling and heartbreaking, I don't see how anyone should give this brilliant movie a miss.

From a nail-biting early sequence in the movie, you already learn who is the killer. However, it is the process that makes this movie interesting, and somehow, the filmmakers managed to keep the suspense (and the audience's interest) all the way until the credits roll.

Those who already watch the equally brilliant Galileo series on TV, you'll know how this works. But this case didn't really deal with Physics, like in the series; instead, it is a psychological warfare between the lead and the killer - much like a life-action deathnote but minus the exaggerating supernatural element.

FINAL SAY: Great acting and moving storyline - recommended. FYI, news have it that CSI is being turned into a movie soon. Hopefully, they get adapt their TV series as good as the Japanese people do theirs.
~

Can't wait to collect the 463 photos from Fujifilm this wednesday. Wow, can't believe I took that much photos.

Will be watching Star Awards 2009 tonight, aka The Little Nonya Prize Presentation Ceremony =P Let's just see how many awards that show can sweep. I'm just hoping 一切完美 (Perfect Cut) gets recognised!

Take care, peeps!

One More Month...

(Feel free to play around with my new iTouch player at the sidebar)

Yep, one more month. Freedom is coming but... the stress seems to be piling up!

But more on that later. Went to catch two movies this week. Makan-ed at Lot1, Central @ Clarke Quay, Kolo Mee and MOF @ Marina Square. PLUS a lot of presents to buy....... all these have put a BIG hole in my wallet. (Which is one stress)

Firstly, Painted Skin.
I give the movie:



Even though 3.5/5 is an above average rating, but honestly, I expected more. First thing, do not believe what the movie tagline says: "More than just a love story". Well, it is actually just a love story.

Although there are moments that border on eerie (the story is from Strange Tales of Liao Zhai afterall), but it is the love triangle between Chen Kun the general, Zhou Xun the Fox Demon and Zhao Wei the suffering wife that tugs at the heatstrings. This is actually the first movie this year that has effectively put a tear to my eyes.

FINAL SAY: Zhou Xun and Zhao Wei's heart-rending acting is the best reason to catch this supernatural/love story.
~

Secondly, 20th Century Boys aka 20世纪少年.
I give the movie:



[ WARNING: This movie is only PART 1 of a TRILOGY ]
Dang, I didn't know that. But besides that gripe, I think this Manga-turned-Mega Blockbuster does live up to its expectations of being the BIGGEST film in Japan this year.

In true Japanese creativity/craziness/quirkiness/brilliance, the plot unfolds and intrigues you so much that you won't really realise that one hour has past and all the movie did was characterization.

In a nutshell, a group of grown men discover that a worldwide virus attack is realising all the end-of-the-world prophecies that they wrote in a comic when they were young. And a masked stranger (see poster) named 'Friend' is orchestrating all these attacks with his own religious cult.

FINAL SAY: It's funny. It's scary. It's ironic. It's great. Shall wait patiently for the next two installments (or maybe I'll just go find the manga =x)
~

Okay, about my stress.

> There's driving (I need to complete at least 15 lessons before my TP which is on 5DEC!).

> I need to find work or I'll have zero income after I ORD!

> Really spending a lot lately. Driving fees too.

> Camp is still busy 'cos of audits!

But ok lah, just need to plan my time properly.

Growing up is not easy.

Today went to listen SMU's Symphonic Band @ Esplanade for free (Beautiful Sunday concert series) with Jiamin and Caijie. Fun, fun. So long never listen concert le. Shopped a bit later. But never spend $. Cannot, lah!

Ok, booking in soon. Thursday Friday off and leave, wohoo!
But Sunday guard. What the sh**.

Take care, peeps!

21KM and the Overdued

Yup, I ran the 21KM army half marathon AGAIN this year. But more on that later.

Firstly, I need to back-date this post by quite a bit because I was so busy preparing the photo-post of the Lamerz Redang Trip (see previous post).

Let's back-date to 15th August!

Guang Yang Primary School Gathering
A whopping 30-plus people turned up, thanks to Kenneth Lim, the guy who seems to have half his brain containing memories from the primary school days =x (seriously, he remembers too much about them)

Anyway, here's that rare shot of us all together at Ken's house:
I'm the one smacked in the middle, with that grey-and-white polo tee, flanked by our teachers, Mrs Tjan (on the left) and Mdm Mahanom (on the right). Really kudos to these two wonderful, wonderful teachers, who still can remember all of us (it's been 8 years!!).

Sometimes, it really is heart-warming if you start recalling those pre-secondary school days. The fun, the mischief, the freedom, the naivete... all that seem to be gradually absent now, don't you think?

After the gathering, me, wenjie, francesca and vanessa proceeded to Bishan Junction 8 to catch Meet Dave.
I give the movie:



Inane - that's the word to describe this lack-lustre of a movie. Of course, there are the occasional laughs, but the keyword here is occasional, largely provided by Eddie Murphy, milking his last available talents as a physical comedy star.

FINAL SAY: Inane.
~

Lamerz Day Celebration and Gifts Exchange
It was 16AUG. We premiered Babe, and a Beachball to much laughter. We gift-exchanged. We played Mahjong. And serkun got drunk.

This is the pic of the presents we exchanged:

And this was my belated birthday gift from Lamerz, a limited-edition MTV Asia Awards t-shirt from EDC by Esprit:

If you're wondering what on Earth is that boxy-red-thing that appeared in the previous two photos, well it's Yeewen's gift to me in the gift-exchange:

Cute. I've seen it at Orchard Cine. And I've seen the price =P
~

New Shoes and 4bia
Once upon a time (okay, it's just one month ago) I came across this nice sneakers from K-Swiss, on an issue on Taiwan FHM. And guess what, I saw that sneakers at StarThreeSixty @ Paragon!

Of course, I grabbed it on my next trip. Here you go, my cherished $139 sneakers:

Don't worry, it wasn't an impulsive buy. I have my saving$. =)

After that retail therapy (I was happy, no doubt, those are nice shoes), me and zhiwen depressed ourselves with the Thai horror 4bia.

I give the movie:



WARNING: This movie is not for the faint-hearted.

This film strings together 4 horror stories by 4 of Thailand's renowned directors, and the result is effective. No doubt, for a horror film, they are scary.

1) For a creepy storyline, the first film, Happiness, will make your spine tingle. The story is still in my head and it's been 2days.

2) Second film, Tit for Tat, is a Final Destination-inspired gore-fest, but with a sicker twist. Your skin will crawl.

3) Third film, In the Middle, is about a camping trip gone wrong. Although it's by Shutter's director, this is more funny than scary. Quite weak, I must say.

4) Final short, The Last Fright, has a damn scary premise, and it pulls out all the stops for an all-out frightening finale. Delivering a corpse alone on a flight is never fun. And this is why.

FINAL SAY: Thai horrors are definitely not as nuanced as their Korean and Japanese counterparts. But this is still an above-average offering that will satisfy horror fans.

The movie had many suspenseful moments, and there was this group of girls sitting behind us. When the film ended, she declared that she had forced herself to go to sleep in the middle.
~

Army Half Marathon (21KM)
Touted as the first run across the newly-built Marina Barrage, this run was just another exhaustion-a-thon for me. But I'm glad I completed it under the 2hr 45min mark, and will add another finisher medal to my tally, including the one from last year.

Will update the photo of my medal next time =p

Went to makan with alfres, jun'an, soonkang, sgt kang and kimheng after that. Then me, kang and kim went to catch Murder of the Inugami Clan @ cine.

I give the movie:




This is a Kindaichi (金田一) crime/mystery about the murders that take place among the wealthy Inugami family.

The plot is intricate, the style of the movie impeccable, and the ensemble acting flawless. Although this movie will definitely not appeal to the general audience (its slow but steady pace might be unnerving to others), Kon Ichikawa re-directed his own 1976 cult-classic with patience and mastery.

FINAL SAY: You'll keep guessing till the end. Although it's not for the average movie-goer, nonetheless, the beautiful and traditional direction has already made this film a modern classic.

(aka Inugamike no ichizoku)
~

Whoa, my whole body is aching like mad; it's the same symptoms from last year's 21km run.

Meeting a couple of lamerz for Money No Enough II later before booking in. Hopefully it's ok.

Take care, peeps!